Professor

source - rotoworld.com

'HAWKS WILL MATCH MOST OF OFFER SHEET



A league source tells us that the Seattle Seahawks plan to match the seven-year, $49 million offer sheet signed by guard Steve Hutchinson. On Sunday, the Vikings and Hutchinson reached agreement on the deal, which includes a cap number of more than $13 million in 2006 and a poison pill provision that will make the full contract guaranteed if Hutchinson is not the highest paid member of the team's offensive line.



The Seahawks, however, will not match this provision, which would result automatically in a full guarantee of the Hutchinson deal, due to the long-term contract signed a year ago by left tackle Walter Jones. Instead, the Seahawks will take the position that the guarantee is not a "Principal Term" of the offer, and that the term need not be matched in order to permit the Seahawks to retain their 2006 transition player.



Under the relevant provisions of the CBA, a provision guaranteeing the contract appears to be a "Principal Term." The Seahawks, however, might be able to argue that, as a procedural matter, a guarantee provision only is a "Principal Term" if the guarantee is reflected by a modification or addition to the offer sheet made by the player. Indeed, Article XIX, Section 3(e)(ii) seems to indicate that a guarantee becomes a "Principal Term" only if the player asks for the guarantee, and if the new team agrees.



The battle could, in the end, elevate form over substance, with the Seahawks arguing that the Vikings proposed the guarantee in order to defeat Seattle's ability to match the offer, and the Vikings arguing that it wasn't their idea and that Hutchinson and his agent asked for the guarantee.



Regardless, there most likely will be a battle, similar to the legal brouhaha that unfolded three years ago between the Redskins and the Jets regarding the rights to Chad Morton. In that case, the Jets failed to match one of the provisions of the offer sheet. Arbitrator Richard Bloch found that the unmatched provision was a "Principal Term," which meant that the Jets had not matched the offer, which meant that the Redskins received the rights to Morton.



This time around, the Seahawks are willing to take their chances as to the question of whether the guarantee is a "Principal Term." If they prevail, the Seahawks keep Hutchinson, without the guarantee. If the Seahawks lose, the Vikings will be awarded Hutchinson, with the potential guarantee in place (but with the guarantee meaningless since Hutchinson will be the highest paid offensive lineman on the team). Per Article XIX, Section 4 of the CBA, the arbitrator will be required to resolve the dispute within 10 days after the grievance is filed.



The Seahawks will receive no compensation for Hutchinson, if they fail to match the offer sheet.



Our initial impression? If the terms of the CBA are applied literally, and if there is sufficient evidence that Hutchinson asked for the guarantee, the Seahawks will lose. But if the arbitrator looks beneath the surface, he or she will realize that the guarantee has little or no chance of being activated if Hutchinson lands in Minnesota, especially if the reports that it applies only in 2006 are accurate. Under that scenario, the arbitrator could be inclined to find that the Seahawks had matched all of the "Principal Terms" that had any realistic bearing on his status with the Vikings.

MickeyG

i really hope the Vikings can get this guy. They need him if they have any hope of runnign the ball.

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Professor

well it's definitely a sticky situation. It seems like the vikings put what is referred to as a poisen pill in the contract to try and make the contract unmatchable. now it will be decided by an arbitrator.

bigboy

This would toss a major wrench into the Vikings plan if he went back to Seattle. I understand he's good and all but he is a G, probably the easiest of all the OL spots to fill and that contract is just incredible, I would let him go if I was Seattle.

Professor

from what I hear out of the minn newspapers is that if Hutch's agent asked for the "pill" than he will be a viking, but if the vikings threw the "pill" in there to try and screw the seahawks then he will be a hawk. Supposedly, the agent did ask for the provision. We'll see.

bigboy

The reason why that clause is in there is obvious, only so Seattle could not match because of the deal Jones already has there. I never even considered if the language of the deal had to be matched and this should be very interesting and could be detrimental to the Vikings off season.

Professor

here's an update

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

Minnesota or Seattle? Hutchinson's 2006 team in hands of arbiter, NFLPA says

By GREGG BELL, AP Sports Writer
March 17, 2006

SEATTLE (AP) -- The Seahawks' hopes of keeping All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson will be decided by an arbitration process.

That will delay the Sunday deadline for the team to match an offer to Hutchinson by the Minnesota Vikings.

The NFL Players Association said on Friday that the league has filed a claim on behalf of the Seahawks contending a clause in the offer sheet Hutchinson signed with the Vikings last weekend circumvents the league's labor contract. That would mean that Seattle does not have to match that clause to keep Hutchinson, who is designated as their transition player.

The clause in question would guarantee Hutchinson the entire contract sum if Hutchinson is not the team's highest-paid offensive lineman.

Richard Berthelsen, general counsel for the NFLPA, said the union will argue against the Seahawks' and league's claims.

"They say the clause circumvents our collective bargaining agreement. It is our belief that it does not," Berthelsen said Friday.

The special master will determine during a Saturday telephone conference call if the labor agreement gives him jurisdiction in the case. The league claims it does, Berthelsen said.

NFL spokesman Michael Signora confirmed that the NFL had filed the case.

Berthelsen said if the special master determines he has jurisdiction, he will hold a hearing on Monday in Philadelphia. If not, the case will fall to a non-injury grievance arbiter, who will convene a hearing.

Either way, a decision would come after the Sunday deadline by which the Seahawks have to match Minnesota's offer.

Hutchinson signed a $49 million, seven-year offer sheet with Minnesota last Sunday. It included $16 million guaranteed. The Seahawks believe that is all they have to match.

But a ruling against the NFC champions would require them to also match a provision in the offer that states if Hutchinson is not the team's highest-paid offensive lineman at any time after the first year of the contract, the final six years of the deal becomes guaranteed.

Such a provision is likely a deal breaker. All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones is Seattle's highest-paid offensive linemen, and would remain so even if the Seahawks matched the Hutchinson offer.

Jones, a six-time Pro Bowler, received $54.5 million -- with up to $20 million in a signing bonus and incentives -- over seven years to remain a Seahawk last April.

Berthelsen said the union's interpretation of the issue is that the clause is permitted by the CBA because it is a "principal term" of the agreement.

That is defined in the contract as salary, incentives and individual league honors -- plus "any modifications of and additions to the terms ... requested by the free agent and acceptable to the New Club, that relate to non-compensation terms (including guarantees, no-cut, and no-trade provisions) ..."

The league and the Seahawks are contending that last point.

In 1993, the first year of unrestricted free agency in the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts signed Will Wolford, Buffalo's transition player, to an offer sheet that included a clause that guaranteed he be the team's highest-paid offensive player.

The Bills, who already had quarterback Jim Kelly as their highest-paid offensive player, argued the clause violated the CBA. An arbiter said it did not. The Bills declined to match the offer sheet, and Wolford signed with the Colts to become their highest-paid offensive player.

After that decision, the league and the union amended the CBA. It now states that no team attempting to match an offer sheet for one of its transition players can be required by an escalator clause similar to Wolford's to pay that player more than what the offering team would pay him.



Updated on Friday, Mar 17, 2006 4:20 pm EST

Professor

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

Seattle loses Hutchinson to Vikings

By GREGG BELL, AP Sports Writer
March 21, 2006

Seattle Seahawks All-Pro guard Steve Hutchinson blocks during NFC championship game against Carolina in this Jan. 22, 2006, file photo. Hutchinson is a step closer to joining the Vikings as a free agent after Seattle lost a ruling over the offer sheet he signed with Minnesota.

SEATTLE (AP) -- The Seattle Seahawks said no thanks to Steve Hutchinson.

The Seahawks were told Monday they needed to match the guarantee provision in the $49 million, seven-year Minnesota offer to their All-Pro guard if they wanted to keep him.

A team official for the NFC champions confirmed they let the league's midnight Monday (EST) deadline pass without doing anything, making one of the keys to their Super Bowl season now the highest-paid Vikings lineman.

In fact, Hutchinson's agent, Tom Condon, said the Seahawks never contacted him about possibly matching the offer after Hutchinson signed the unprecedented offer sheet on March 12.

When asked if Hutchinson wanted to leave the team that drafted him 17th overall out of Michigan in 2001, Condon said: "Not at all. I think that there wasn't any reason for him to leave Seattle.

"Nevertheless, Minnesota really stepped out for him."

The Vikings' seven-year contract became binding at 12:01 a.m. (EST) Tuesday. It includes $16 million guaranteed and is the richest deal ever given to a guard.

And Monday's ruling means it just got richer.

The most guaranteed money in NFL history is the $34.5 million signing bonus Peyton Manning received in March of 2004 from Indianapolis, part of a record $98 million Colts contract.

A league spokesman and an attorney for the NFL players' union confirmed that a special master ruled against Seattle earlier Monday, saying a provision guaranteeing all of the $49 million in the offer sheet Hutchinson signed with Minnesota should he not be the team's highest-paid offensive lineman is valid.

"The Seahawks lost," NFL Players Association general counsel Richard Berthelsen said.

The two teams had declined comment on the ruling.

Berthelsen attended the two-hour hearing Monday in Philadelphia before special master Stephen Burbank, who ruled on the matter.

The Seahawks had argued that because they recently re-negotiated Pro Bowl left tackle Walter Jones' $54.5 million, seven-year contract by adding an eighth, voidable year, Jones' team-best lineman deal now has an annual value below that of Hutchinson's offer.

After the re-negotiation, Jones' annual base salary would dip to $6.81 million -- just below Hutchinson's $7 million annual average had Seattle matched Minnesota's offer. Thus, the Seahawks argued Monday they should not have to guarantee the rest of Hutchinson's new deal.

Berthelsen said Burbank did not elaborate in his ruling.

But Berthelsen said the decision validated the NFLPA's stance that the conditions at the time Hutchinson signed the offer sheet with the Vikings are the conditions Seattle must match -- meaning Hutchinson wasn't the highest-paid Seahawks lineman then, so Seattle must guarantee all $49 million of the Vikings' deal to match it.

"They wanted to put in additional language to make it from any point from now until the end of the 2006 league year," Berthelsen said. "That is contrary to the intent of the wording that was in the contract.

"And the special master agreed."

The Seahawks now have $6.39 million more to spend on potential free agents -- money they had been obligated to tender to Hutchinson once they made him their transition player last month.

Seattle has offered a first-round draft pick for Jets defensive end John Abraham, who wants a long-term deal. The Jets are still mulling that offer for their franchise player. The team is also courting San Francisco free-agent linebacker Julian Peterson, a two-time Pro Bowler.

Some of the money freed by Hutchinson leaving could be used to sign his replacement. Versatile veteran Floyd Womack, who started 22 games at tackle and guard in his first four Seattle seasons before he lost his right-tackle job, is currently in line to replace Hutchinson.

Updated on Tuesday, Mar 21, 2006 12:57 am EST

MickeyG

this is great news for the Vikings, they really needed some good news.

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Manster

After all the FA they signed for the defence it now looks like it is the offense turn to get a makeover.